The FA Cup may be the soccer world's oldest and most prestigious domestic cup competition—it dates back to 1872—but in recent years some relegation-threatened English clubs have treated it as something between a nuisance and a distraction.

Preoccupied with preserving their Premier League status, a number of them have rested their regulars for FA Cup games and fielded clearly understrength sides. And while nobody has gone so far as to openly celebrate an early elimination, it probably would be safe to assume that some managers aren't too displeased at the prospect of more rest and less travel in the stretch to the end of the season, when their club's future status (and their own future employment) will be determined.

So when a team is in a cup final while also being mired in a relegation battle, it's inevitable that some will blame the energy-sapping cup run. That's the situation Wigan Athletic finds itself in.

On the one hand, it has reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time in its history and will face Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on May 11. On the other, it could well drop out of the Premier League this season.

Wigan lost back-to-back games this past week—at Manchester City on Wednesday and West Ham on Saturday—and in both cases could deem itself unlucky to have come away with no points. It's now third from the bottom, three points away from Aston Villa and safety, with five games to go. Wigan's remaining games appear marginally tougher than Villa's and the far-from-straightforward goal must be to go into the final game of the season, which is appropriately Wigan vs. Aston Villa, still in control of its own destiny.

At a news conference last week, Wigan manager Roberto Martinez left little doubt as to what his priority would be.

"If we [avoid relegation] it will be an incredible achievement to secure a ninth [consecutive] season in the Premier League... If we don't, then reaching the Cup final will become an empty achievement," he said. "Getting to the final is a historic moment for this club and one we are proud of. But we can only count this season as a success if we stay in the Premier League."

He's right. Until a few decades ago, winning the FA Cup was comparable to winning the league in the eyes of many fans, players, and coaches. Today, that's no longer the case.

It's partly down to economic disparity. Winning the FA Cup yields about $5.1 million in prize money (the losing finalist ends up with about $3.8 million.) Being crowned Premier League champion, on the other hand, is worth in excess of $100 million.

More important, clubs near the bottom of the table can still expect to make more than $60 million... as long as they avoid relegation. And if they drop out of the top flight, they can expect three years of "parachute payments," payouts destined to help alleviate the blow of relegation, which in any case were no more than $22 million last year and fall over time.

And then that's it. No more bonanza. When you consider that next year the prize money will be as much as 70% more than this season because of the league's new television deal you can see just why the stakes are so high.

The other reason the league is pre-eminent is that folks have cottoned on to the fact that luck plays a huge part in the FA Cup, like any knockout competition.

You could just as easily face Manchester United and go home straight away or take on a succession of amateur or lower-league teams and advance deep into the competition. As a metric to determine the relative strength of a team, it's not a very convincing one.

But back to Martinez. Is his Wigan team paying the price for the "distraction" of the FA Cup?

He disputes this and he's probably right. Wigan has had an unnaturally easy run to the final having faced third-tier Bournemouth, fifth-tier Macclesfield and two second-tier sides themselves threatened with relegation, Huddersfield and Millwall. The only Premier League team Wigan eliminated was Everton, beaten 3-0 in the quarterfinal.

In other words, this hasn't been a particularly taxing FA Cup run. And it's been even less taxing for his regulars. Martinez fielded sides stocked with reserves and fringe players right up until the quarterfinal. Indeed, of the 11 players he has used most frequently in the Premier League, just three—Maynor Figueroa,Emmerson Boyce and Arouna Kone—have started more than two FA Cup games.

Many will inevitably wonder whether the relatively easy ride to Wembley Wigan enjoyed this season was more of a curse than a blessing, especially if the club is relegated (and assuming it doesn't actually win the FA Cup).

But the brutal reality is that if Wigan does go down this season, it probably won't be because Martinez got carried away and put too many eggs in the FA Cup basket. It will simply be the formula that usually relegates clubs in Wigan's position: Limited resources, stiff opposition and the ultimate imponderable, chance.

Gabriele Marcotti is the world soccer columnist for the Times of London and a regular broadcaster for the BBC.

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